Rose Hints - Brief Article

Flower & Garden Magazine, Oct, 2000 by Ann Hooper

Southern rosarians are still enjoying their roses in the landscape and as cut flowers, and it's important to continue to keep your plants pest and disease free. In temperate climates, fungal diseases that attack roses will overwinter, causing no end of problems in the spring. Maintaining your regular fungicide/ miticide/insecticide spray regimen will guarantee beautiful roses now and in the spring, too. Temperate climate gardeners must force dormancy in December or January to give plants a rest and prone to promote a spectacular early spring bloom. We'll discuss that in detail in the next issue of Flower & Garden.

Northern gardeners, on the other hand, are getting ready to prepare their roses to weather the ravages of winter. As cold weather approaches, you'll notice that on some varieties of roses, the canes turn purplish. This is the plant's natural anti-freeze system kicking in, thickening cell walls to help keep them from bursting and killing all, or part of, the cane.

For many varieties, particularly the old garden roses and many shrubs, climbers, and floribundas, the plants' natural system will prevent winter damage. But many modern roses, particularly the hybrid teas, require rose-lover intervention to keep winter's cold and wind from damaging, or even killing the plants.

If you don't know whether or not your roses are winter hardy, err on the side of caution and protect them. If you know your roses are on the tender side, provide maximum winter protection.

The object of winter protection is not to keep roses warm, but to keep them from being affected by cold wind and the freeze/thaw cycle, both of which are devastating for rose plants.

Winter protection starts with what you don't do, and that's pruning or cutting back rose canes. If you do, the sap begins to run, especially on warm days, urging the plant to grow rather than to become dormant. After the first frost in your area, stop deadheading and cutting flowers (unless they're so spectacular you just can't resist). Allow the dead flowers to form hips, which helps signal the plants that winter's coming.

Unless rose canes are really tall and floppy and will be damaged by wind, leave them long. Some portion of the cane is bound to be damaged by winter, so it's best to leave canes intact so necrosis can be pruned off in spring, leaving a good portion of the cane to grow and produce flowers next season.

The most important part of a hybrid tea plant is the bud union (graft knob), from where all new canes originate, and it requires the most protection. Mounding the base of the plant with soil, and then covering the soil with leaves or boughs keeps the dangerous wind off and keeps the bud union from freezing and thawing several times throughout the winter and early spring. It's easy to make 12-to-14-inch high collars out of several sheets of newspaper. Stand them up around the base of the plant, staple the ends together, and fill the collars with soil. This will keep the soil mound in place, and make your job lots easier. Be sure to take the soil from another part of the garden rather than from around your roses, so as not to expose any of the plant's roots to harsh weather.

Protect your roses lovingly, and they'll reward you with wonderful flowers for years and years to come.

Ann Hooper is an American Rose Society-certified consulting rosarian and owner of Primary Products, a mailorder supplier of fine products to help grow fabulous roses and other plants. If you're online, you may want to subscribe to her FREE Rose-E-Tips newsletter at www.primaryproducts. com, or phone 800.841.6630 for a free color catalog.